Boston's Lyric Stage Company has a holiday treat that's a pleasant
relief from the usual seasonal offerings. Forget the North Pole and
Victorian England, and don't settle for the Nativity Scene or the Festival
of Lights. Epic Proportions can transport you to the Arizona desert
for the making of a 1930s epic film that's a retelling of the entire
Bible.

Richard Snee, Neil A. Casey and Maureen Keiller

The premise for this silliest of farces came to writers Larry Coen (a
Boston based actor seen here recently in Dirty Blonde) and David
Crane (the legendary Friends creator and executive producer) some
twenty years ago. Watching The Ten Commandments through the eyes
of the thousands of extras in the film, they got to wondering why the lucky
ones did the banquet and orgy scenes while the less fortunate were
relegated to fighting off plague and pestilence.

To explore this idea further they imagined two brothers: Benny
(Christopher Robin Cook) who thinks the path to Hollywood lies in being
the most enthusiastic extra he can be and Phil (Terrence O'Malley) who's
been sent to fetch him home. But D. W. DeWitt likes a closed set so the
busses won't be back until the movie's in the can. The hapless Phil must
bide his time by donning a tunic and a pair of tights as well.

Of course, it's no surprise that when the 3,000 plus extras count off
by four, Benny lands in the hard luck group and Phil gets to do all the
good stuff. To make life more interesting, not to mention more
complicated, the assistant in charge of the "atmosphere personnel" is the
girl (Laura Given Napoli) they both fall for.

Napoli proves the old adage that the best presents do come in small
packages. She's a charming comic actress who brings out the best in Cook
and O'Malley. They are a delightful trio. Ably rounding out the cast are
Richard Snee, Maureen Keiller, Neil A. Casey and Nathaniel McIntyre, each
appearing in so many roles you would swear there were three times as many
of them.

Part of the fun of Epic Proportions is the depiction of the entire
gargantuan operation with only seven actors (fewer than the 1999 Broadway
production or the original one at Manhattan Punchline Theatre in 1986).
To pull this off, director Davis Robinson takes full advantage of the space
he has to work with. Helped by set designer Robert M. Russo, he places the
action all over the theatre, effectively bringing the audience into the
thick of things. I was expecting at any moment to be told to report to
makeup and wardrobe for the next scene.

The costumes by Rafael Jaen, especially those for the women, did much
to conjure up the feel of a 1930s spectacle. Marc Plevinsky's sound
design needs to be kicked up a few notches to do the same.

As the best sketch writing on Saturday Night Live or the old
Carol Burnett Show proves, the shorter form for a farce is often
the easier to write. Like so many films with a wild and original premise,
the setup here is better than the payoff. Although the actors forge
onward with great aplomb, the story runs out of steam when it takes a
detour from the original premise in the second half.

Epic Proportions, now through December 21st at the Lyric Stage
Company, 140 Clarendon St. (Copley Square), Boston, Mass (in the YWCA
Building.) Performance schedule: Wednesday & Thursday at 7:30; Friday &
Saturday at 8pm with matinees on Saturday at 4pm, Sunday at 3pm and
Wednesday Nov 27th and Dec 18th at 2pm. For tickets and information:
(617) 437-7172 or online at www.yricstage.com